


Star Trek: Argo

by Chemicallywrit



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Star Trek
Genre: Gen, and that's it, in-universe media, it's not a star trek au, it's star trek in mass effect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-28 06:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20059363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chemicallywrit/pseuds/Chemicallywrit
Summary: Check out the newest recap vid, Enterprisers, where each week a panel of fan experts get together to discuss the latest episode of the new series, Star Trek: Argo!My friends started talking about how Shep probably loves Star Trek and this sublimated spontaneously onto a google doc, I don't know what happened. How many chapters will there be? Maybe no more! I'll never tell.





	Star Trek: Argo

The lights go up, and a cutesy techno version of the theme for the newest iteration of a popular sci-fi series plays. The camera zooms in on five people in chairs, a comfortable talk-show set with some strangely retro touches.

“Welcome one and all to _Enterprising_, your number one discussion show for all things Star Trek,” says the bright-faced young black woman farthest to the left, which the camera lands on. Her chair is offset from the others at an angle, and she’s definitely the most immaculately dressed of the five—a person comfortable with her holovid personality. “I’m your host, Abby Landry. We gathered today to talk about the pilot episode of our favorite show’s newest series...Star Trek: Argo.”

The camera backs up as Abby continues, taking in the rest of the panel.

“Let me introduce you to our panel of expert fans.” The camera cuts to closeups of each guest as Abby says their name. “First is Chad Kitts, generational superfan, descendent of a co-author of the very first Spock and Kirk fanzine.”

“Happy to be here, Abby,” says Chad, grinning. He’s human, in his mid-thirties and blonde, a ruddy man who never quite outgrew his boyish face.

“Next up, curator for ‘Foreseeing the Stars,’ an exhibit celebrating science fiction in human history on semi-permanent loan to the Citadel Cultural Museum—please welcome Relius Petillian.”

“Thank you, Miss Landry,” says Relius, a dignified turian in the latter half of his life. He is head and shoulders taller than his fellow panel members, but thin for a turian, like a distinguished grasshopper. His facial markings are green and run along the length of his mandibles, emphasizing each word as he speaks.

“Also joining us is Vika’las vas Tonbay, current chairperson on the selection committee for the Diyya-Gaiman Awards for Excellence in Fanfiction. Thank you, Vika.”

“It’s an honor,” says the quarian woman in the next chair. Details of her person are lost under protective equipment, but she is slight, and her voice is warm and welcoming.

“And finally, author of eleven novelizations and counting in the canon Star Trek universe, we are pleased to welcome Gabriela Muñoz.”

“Thank you so much for having me,” says Gabriela, a plump human woman with brown skin and black eyes framed by bright red horn rim glasses. She’s in her late twenties, but dresses older, her apparel a little out of date.

“Now fans had a lot of questions about when this series would be set in the Star Trek continuity,” Abby says, straight to business. This is a show for fans, not newcomers. “The big question was, reboot or spin-off? Gabriela, would you like to weigh in?”

“Certainly,” says Gabriela, sitting up a little straighter. “If you didn’t quite catch the hints in the pilot, this show is designed to happen at the same time as the second series in the Trek universe.”

“That’s Next Generation, correct?” asks Relius.

“That’s right,” Gabriela says. “This series was designed to retcon the existence of actual nonhuman species into the show, without changing the overall canon of the story. Obviously some things will necessarily change, but the history the story set out—that First Contact involved the Vulcans—is the same.”

“So if the question is ‘reboot or spin-off,’ then the answer is sort of both,” Kiva offers.

“That’s a good way to put it, yes,” says Gabriela.

“Personally, I think it came off a little bit awkward,” Chad jumps in. “I find it jarring to see a salarian nurse next to a Vulcan medical officer. It’s disruptive to the fiction—real nonhumans and made-up nonhumans.”

“Do you find it disruptive?” Relius drawls. “I think from a literary standpoint, it’s elegant. Star Trek as a series has always promoted representation. It would be remiss of the showrunners not to include representation of nonhuman people in the show at all, for the sake of the sanctity of the fiction.”

“Not including both brings up an interesting question of what the alternative could be,” Gabriela says thoughtfully. “I guess you could replace all the nonhuman races in the fiction with actual nonhuman analogs.”

“Mm, that might be an interesting fanfiction,” Vika says. “But I have some misgivings about the idea. It seems like it would lend itself to some harmful stereotyping, unless you were to completely rewrite the canon.”

“Plus, what would Star Trek be without Spock, Tuvok, or T’Pol?” Chad adds.

“This wasn’t a challenge faced by the last series, correct?” asks Abby.

“Right, Star Trek: Conquest took place between First Contact and Enterprise,” Gabriela says. “No nonhumans to worry about except Vulcans.”

“And whether Conquest is even worth our time as a series is still up for debate,” Vika interjects.

“C’mon now, don’t you like a good complex antihero?” teases Chad.

“I have no problem with complex antiheroes,” Vika says, her tone mild. “It’s whether Conquest had good ones that I take issue with.”

“Oo,” Relius says.

“Ouch,” Gabriela adds, chuckling.

“I’d like to revisit the nonhuman characters aboard the Argo,” Abby says, reeling the conversation back in. “There were three speaking roles and a three or four background characters as well. How did we feel about them?”

“I love Yarrik,” Chad speaks up. “A Vulcan medical officer is something we’ve never seen before, and the idea of using a true straight man as comic relief is really refreshing.”

“His sexual preferences weren’t outlined in the episode, not that I saw,” says Relius with a puzzled frown.

“Oh, no, straight man as in the natural foil of the comic,” Gabriela interjects.

“Ah, you’re referring to the ‘bedside manner’ schtick,” Relius says.

“Right, that,” Chad goes on. “I think we’re well past the point of people being offended by the Vulcans’ mannerisms—this is a nice twist on an old favorite idea.”

“I don’t love the way Nurse Shellon has been portrayed so far,” Vika says. “The talkative hyper-organized salarian is a stereotype. Unless she has some complexity added to her characterization in the next few episodes, I’d say she’s been done a disservice.”

“You don’t think it’s different to have a salarian who isn’t all science, all the time?” asks Chad.

“I just see the potential for harmful generalizations, I’m afraid,” Vika says.

Relius’ mandibles flick with annoyance. “At least she is played by a salarian.”

“Ah, a perfect segue into the most controversial new character of Argo,” Abby says. “Engineer Maqoch, a Klingon played by krogan actor Vurkun Mox.”

“I take it you don’t like Mister Maqoch, Relius?” Gabriela asks.

“I have a problem with Klingons and krogans being conflated,” Relius says. “Klingons have been the butt of the worst of humans’ fears about nonhumans for a long time. If they wanted a krogan actor, they ought to have had a krogan character.”

“How do you feel about him, Vika?” Abby asks.

Vika hesitates. “I’m not sure yet. I would have to talk to some people in the krogan community to be certain. All that aside, though, as a character...I love Mister Maqoch.”

“I do too!” crows Gabriela. “He’s just lovely. I’m sure he’s designed to be sweet, but it’s still nice to have that coming from a Klingon without losing Klingon culture.”

“Vurkun Mox is a really good actor,” admits Chad. “I don’t love that they’re changing what Klingons look like again, but it’s not like it hasn’t happened before.”

“Has it happened before?” asks Abby, aghast.

“Oh yes, between the original series and Next Gen,” Gabriela says. “They even comment about it in the Deep Space 9 crossover episode—there’s canon explanation for it, too, although to be honest it’s kind of a reach.”

“I find it disappointing,” Relius goes on. “The way the showrunners structured this retroactive inclusion, they had the opportunity to make a very diverse and interesting cast with nonhuman actors, but with only two speaking nonhuman actors—and one of them playing a fictional species...Even the background nonhumans were half fictional. Kelpian, Andorian, and then a couple of asari?”

“You make a really good point, Relius,” Gabriela speaks up. “But Argo is still notable for other reasons. Captain Ramirez is the first Latinx captain we’ve ever seen in Star Trek outside of novelizations, and First Officer Liu is the first fat character who hasn’t been comic relief. Humans have a lot of work to do on representation within their own species too.”

“You also have to keep in mind that this is a pilot of a show that has never really had a good season one,” Chad offers. “We might have to keep an open mind.”

“Interesting points all around,” Abby interrupts, “but I’m afraid that’s all the time we have for today. Thank you to our panel members for being here, and thank you all for streaming us. Be sure to check in next week as we talk about episode two, coming to your holovid feeds on Wednesday. Until then, everyone...live long and prosper.”

The camera pans back, and the theme plays again, as the picture fades out.


End file.
